Bridges for Justice is an exciting new program funded by a grant from United Thank Offering (UTO) and the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska (DioNeb). Administered by Balancing the Scales, the Diocesan ministry I lead focused on criminal justice reform. This project was one of only 25 grant recipients nationwide for this year’s UTO grants!
Bridges for Justice connects St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Omaha and St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Alliance for a year of fellowship, formation, service opportunities with our community partner RISE, and public policy advocacy. RISE is Nebraska’s largest nonprofit supporting reentry after incarceration. DioNeb has partnered and collaborated with RISE on public policy since 2019. All activities are rooted in the idea that conversation fosters understanding, and change occurs at the pace of relationships.
At the center of these cultural exchange weekends are two sets of teams, one from each parish (St. Andrew’s and St. Matthew’s) with up to ten people in each team. These ten team members will travel to visit the other team and meet the larger parish community. St. Andrew’s went to Alliance on Sept. 18-20, 2026, and St. Matthew’s team will travel to Omaha on June 25-27, 2027.
Team members will also participate in a volunteer project with RISE, join in a Zoom discussion in January with author and pastor Ryan Burge, and attend the DioNeb Advocacy Day at the Unicameral on Tues. April 6. Mileage reimbursement for those who carpool to/from Alliance as well as lodging and meals for the St. Matthew’s team will be provided. To join us for a year of transformational learning and fellowship as a team member, register here.
Ways You Can Participate
Besides joining a team, there are many ways for St. Andrew’s members to participate in Bridges for Justice.
Be a home exchange host: During our cultural exchange weekends, our Bridges teams will stay as guests in other people’s homes. If you have a spare bedroom (or two) and would like to host a Bridges participant when they visit Omaha, please serve as a home exchange host. Alliance team members will be in Omaha on Friday, June 25 and Saturday, June 26, 2027.
Provide hospitality during cultural exchange weekends: Each cultural exchange weekend will begin with a worship service and potluck dinner open to the entire church community. Bring a dish to share and join us in worship and fellowship! We also need breakfast items for our teams who will continue meeting throughout the weekend.
Volunteer with our community partner, RISE: Beginning in September, everyone is invited to join us for monthly service projects and table fellowship with RISE’s IMPACT program participants. IMPACT is a program that connects Nebraskans reentering our communities after incarceration with local service opportunities. Everyone is welcome to volunteer together at one of our IMPACT dinner nights and join for service and fellowship. Stay tuned for dates and sign-ups.
Join our Adult Formation Opportunities: This Fall, St. Andrew’s will offer two adult formation opportunities in a hybrid format. These sessions are open to all parishioners at St. Andrew’s and St. Matthew’s. The first session will be an introduction to RISE. The second session will be an introduction to community organizing in a faith context.
Write Welcome Notes for Returning Citizens: During Annual Council, everyone is invited to write notes of encouragement to Nebraskans returning to our communities after a period of incarceration, which will be included in RISE welcome bags.
Serve as a Volunteer Judge for RISE Business Pitch Competition: RISE offers a 12-week Business Academy focused on developing a prosperous business in the community for those with lived experience with the criminal justice system or their family members. At the end of the program, participants pitch their businesses to a panel of judges. Everyone is invited to serve as a judge at the RISE Business Pitch Competition in December 2026 and early 2027. Please note that participants must apply and receive a background check and screening from Nebraska Department of Corrections to participate, which can take time to process. Please talk to a member of the clergy about volunteering today!
Participate in our Zoom discussion with author Ryan Burge: This Zoom discussion will be on Wednesday, January 17, 2027, and is open to everyone in DioNeb. Best-selling author Ryan Burge is a professor at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics, Washington University in St. Louis and served as a pastor in the American Baptist Church for over twenty years. He is the author of several books, including his most recent work on political polarization within churches, The Vanishing Church: How the Hollowing Out of Moderate Congregations Is Hurting Democracy, Faith, and Us, and the popular Substack, Graphs About Religion.
Attend our Advocacy Day:All Episcopalians from across DioNeb are invited to join us for DioNeb’s Advocacy Day on Tuesday, April 7, 2027. Our Western Nebraska Bridges team will be staying in Lincoln on Monday, April 6, 2027. Mileage for those who carpool and lodging and dinner at a local retreat center in Lincoln will be provided for April 5, 2027 (the night before the advocacy day).
Join Us Today!
Bridges for Justice is a wonderful opportunity for St. Andrew’s to deepen its commitment to drawing the circle wider and wider. The program will connect our parish with Episcopalians across the Diocese, and particularly those in St. Matthew’s Alliance, and foster relationships with RISE and those with lived experience with the criminal justice system. Together we will build bridges of understanding and relationship between rural and urban, those who have spent time in prison and those who have not, while recognizing our shared humanity and our inherit dignity as children of God.
As we begin this new and exciting program, please pray for those participating in Bridges for Justice and those involved in our criminal justice system. Consider how God might be calling you to engage with this program through one of the many formation, fellowship, and service opportunities. And above all, continue in mutual love for one another.
